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Update to must see video: Dearborn, Michigan firefighters talk about their extemely close call on the roof of burning Fordson Cleaners.

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Previous coverage of this story

More pictures of the fire

The three Dearborn firefighters on the roof of the Fordson Cleaners Thursday evening who had an extrememly close call captured on video and seen around the world are Lt. Steven Bucholz (in the red helmet), Firefighter Mark Farrell (who was pulled to safety by the others) and Firefighter Joe Murray. They told reporters today they didn’t realize how close it was until they saw the video on the news. Watch the interview above and here are some quotes from the story by Julie Banovic at WXYZ-TV:

“As soon as I felt it going I just reached for that wall,” said Mark Farrell.  Mark Farrell is the Dearborn firefighter sliding toward a hole of fire who narrowly escaped being burned alive.

“Thank God for both of these guys,“ said Farrell.

“I didn’t really know how bad it really was.  We all came off the roof and went back to work,” said Farrell.

“Oh man, I was closer to the hole than I thought it was.  And it wasn’t until I saw the video that I realized that,” said Farrell.

“It really opened our eyes how lucky we got,” said Joe Murray.

WDIV-TV:

Firefighter Mark Farrell did not tell his wife what happened until she saw him on the news.

“I didn’t really realize the helicopter was up there. (My wife) saw it later on in the night. I caught some flack for it later,” the year firefighter said laughing. 

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UPDATED – A must see: It doesn’t get much closer than this. Roof caving in during Dearborn, Michigan fire. Additional video & pictures added.

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In case you were wondering reporter Ron Savage, in the video above, is a volunteer paid, on-call firefighter with Michigan’s Brighton Area Fire Department.

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Dearborn Fire Department website 

Thanks to a number of our loyal readers for the alert about this video from a fire in Dearborn, Michigan Thursday evening that became a very close call for three firefighters (including Mike Smith who publishes the wonderful site BoronExtrication.com).

Above is the story from WJBK-TV with more some additional video of the fire. Below is raw video of the partial collapse of the roof from WXYZ-TV.

WXYZ-TV:

Three Dearborn fire fighters escaped serious injury during some scary moments  while battling a fire at Fordson Cleaners.

It happened when they were on the roof trying to ventilate the building.

WJBK-TV:

They had made their first hole when the roof started giving way under their feet.  Skyfox was overhead when it happen and caught the dramatic moment on camera. 

Click here for Dearborn Patch aftermath photos by Ian Kushnir.

Dearborn Patch:

The call for the fire came in just after the business closed, around 7 p.m. It was a two-alarm fire that blew out the doors of the business

While attempting to ventilate the building, the roof of the business caved in with three firefighters standing on top of it. One man almost fell in, but was pulled to safety.

Fordson Cleaners has been in business in Dearborn since 1949, and cleans everything from draperies and rugs to wedding gowns and commercial orders. 

Do you want to sell a rig? Click HERE to find out how with SellFireTrucks.com.

Click here for Google Maps tour around Fordson Cleaners at Lois and Michigan in Dearborn.

Click here for Bing Maps Bird’s Eye View of Fordson Cleaners.